Celeron 2981U vs Core 2 Quad Q9550

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Core 2 Quad Q6600 Core 2 Quad Q9550 Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) Core 2 Quad Q6700 Core 2 Quad Q8200 Core 2 Quad Q8300 Core 2 Quad Q8400 Core 2 Quad Q9300 Core 2 Quad Q9400 Core 2 Quad Q9450 Core 2 Quad Q9500 Core 2 Quad Q9650
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Core i3-4000M Core i3-4005U Core i3-4010U Core i3-4030U Core i5-4200M Core i5-4200U Core i5-4210M Core i5-4210U Core i5-4300U Core i7-4510U Core i7-4700MQ Core i7-4720HQ

Aggregate performance score

Core 2 Quad Q9550
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.53
+125%

Core 2 Quad Q9550 outperforms Celeron 2981U by a whopping 125% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

Core 2 Quad Q9550 Core 2 Quad Q9550
Celeron 2981U Celeron 2981U

Primary details

Comparing Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking21512742
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesCore 2 Quad (Desktop)Intel Celeron
Power efficiency1.474.13
Architecture codenameYorkfield (2007−2009)Haswell (2013−2015)
Release dateno data (2024 years ago)1 January 2014 (10 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores4 (Quad-Core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads42
Base clock speedno data1.6 GHz
Boost clock speed2.83 GHz1.6 GHz
Bus rate1333 MHz5 GT/s
L1 cacheno data128 KB
L2 cache12288 KB512 KB
L3 cacheno data2 MB
Chip lithography45 nm22 nm
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configurationno data1
SocketLGA775FCBGA1168
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data-
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data-
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Smart Responseno data-
GPIOno data+
Smart Connectno data+
FDIno data-
AMTno data9.5
Matrix Storageno data-
HD Audiono data+
RSTno data+

Security technologies

Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data-
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data-
Anti-Theftno data-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-dno data-
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR1,DDR2,DDR3DDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data16 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel® HD Graphics for 4th Generation Intel® Processors
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Videono data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Celeron 2981U.

PCIe versionno data2.0
PCI Express lanesno data12
PCI supportno data-
USB revisionno data3.0
Total number of SATA portsno data2
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Portsno data2
Integrated IDEno data-
Number of USB portsno data4
Integrated LANno data-
UARTno data+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Core 2 Quad Q9550 1.53
+125%
Celeron 2981U 0.68

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Core 2 Quad Q9550 2345
+126%
Celeron 2981U 1036

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 1.53 0.68
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 4 2
Chip lithography 45 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 15 Watt

Core 2 Quad Q9550 has a 125% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

Celeron 2981U, on the other hand, has a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 533.3% lower power consumption.

The Core 2 Quad Q9550 is our recommended choice as it beats the Celeron 2981U in performance tests.

Note that Core 2 Quad Q9550 is a desktop processor while Celeron 2981U is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Quad Q9550 and Celeron 2981U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
Core 2 Quad Q9550
Intel Celeron 2981U
Celeron 2981U
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Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.

4.1 1861 vote

Rate Core 2 Quad Q9550 on a scale of 1 to 5:

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3.3 7 votes

Rate Celeron 2981U on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core 2 Quad Q9550 or Celeron 2981U, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.